During the flight of an aircraft, there may be any number of factors that adversely affect the safety and effectiveness of air travel, such as changes in terrain, poor weather, or congested air traffic. Often, an aircraft pilot may not fully appreciate or perceive the nature or potential impact of these factors. Various flight control instruments have been developed over the years to aid the pilot in safely and effectively negotiating such factors.
Two common tools in use today are a navigational display and a vertical situation display. The navigational display presents a lateral navigational view of the flight plan, while the vertical situation display presents a vertical navigational view of the flight plan. The pilot uses the navigational display and vertical situation display to make navigational and other control decisions.
During the flight of an aircraft, it may be necessary for the aircraft to fly in a holding pattern. A holding pattern is a repetitive maneuver that keeps an aircraft in a specified airspace. An aircraft pilot may use various flight instruments to make control decisions while flying a holding pattern maneuver. In some cases, an aircraft pilot may not fully appreciate different factors which may be present while engaged in flying a holding pattern maneuver. Due to these difficulties, there may be times when pilots need a more accurate representation of flight conditions while flying a holding pattern maneuver.
There remains an ongoing need in the aviation industry for further improvements and refinements to make flight operation more effective and safe. More particularly, there may be times when pilots could use enhanced representation of flight conditions during execution of various flight maneuvers. Therefore, it is desirable to find better ways to convey navigational status of an aircraft during flight maneuvers.